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Kelowna  

Kelowna e-scooter provider pulls shared fleet, pivots to full-day rentals

Scooter provider pulls fleet

One of four e-scooter operators in Kelowna has pulled its fleet off the road while it works to make safety changes requested by the city.

Zip Scooters founder Luke Mydlarz says they are retooling their fleet, and in the meantime, are pivoting to a full-day-rental system.

In response to safety concerns in the wake of comments by one of KGH’s top doctors calling the scooters “fracture machines,” the city has asked all four scooter operators to make changes.

Mydlarz said those changes, like limiting the top speed for a rider’s first ride, will take some time for his company to implement.

Unlike some of the other scooter companies operating in Kelowna, like Lime or Bird which have billion-dollar valuations and operate around the globe, Zip Scooters is relatively small and based in Canada.

“We pulled our fleet because we couldn’t meet the timeline for one of those requirements,” Mydlarz said, referring to the lower speed limit. “Being a smaller company, we have to build those out ourselves.”

While they work to implement the required changes, Mydlarz said they will be launching a full-day and multi-day rental service starting Thursday.

The scooters can be rented for 24 hours for $40 or three days for $100, including home delivery, instructional demonstration, helmets and a charger. The scooter will be labelled as private as not rentable for anyone else. The scooters rented under the full-day program will have fewer restrictions than the shared version, as if you owned the scooter yourself.

Zip Scooters was one of the first providers to operate in Kelowna, including back in 2019 when they were limited to City Park.

Mydlarz is hoping the city can work through the current challenges associated with the e-scooter rollout so they can become a fixture of the city.

“We’ve been a part of the community for a long time, and want to continue to be a part of the community,” he said.

Anyone who has e-scooter credits on their Zip account can contact the company for a refund or transfer them to a day rental. Contact information is available online or in the Zip Scooter app.



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